Google Search

Tottenham And Arsenal To Miss Out On Brazilian Sensation, As Playmaker Nears Sao Paulo Switch

Arsenal and Spurs are set to miss out on Brazilian superstar Ganso, with the Santos playmaker close to completing a switch to Brazilian rivals Sao Paulo.

The north London rivals have been tracking the 22-year-old for some time and both were understood to be weighing up a bid next summer.

But the Brazil international is on the verge of joining Sao Paulo after a bitter contract dispute with Santos.

The club’s president, Luis Alvaro de Oliveira Ribeiro, revealed that he met with the midfielder last week and Ganso demanded wages that were too high for the club.

“Ganso returned to us with a proposal that’s unthinkable for Brazilian standards and I did not accept it. So he said he wanted to leave. With what he asked, I could recruit, two Argentine and Uruguayan alternates.”

Santos rejected Sao Paulo’s first bid of £3m for Ganso but the pair have now reportedly agreed a deal worth £7.4m to buy 45% of the player, who is also part owned by a third-party.

“We are confident that the negotiations have progressed well, but we need to put it all on paper before making it official. Discussions are good, it should be concluded early next week,” confirmed the Sao Paulo vice-president.

Along with Neymar and Lucas Moura, Ganso is considered one of the future stars of Brazilian football, although he has lost his place in the national set-up to Chelsea new-boy Oscar in recent months.

Sao Paulo striker Luis Fabiano, formerly of Sevilla, admitted that he was delighted at the prospect of playing alongside the young star.

“Ganso adds a lot to us. We have Jadson, but it’s good to have a player of Ganso’s quality,” Fabiano is quoted as saying by SambaFoot.

“He has a great pass and he controls the game well. If he comes, he will be welcomed and we will receive him with open in arms because we only have Jadson in this position.

“He is playing every game, it is too much. Plus, there is always room for a player of that quality.”

Compare ticket prices for the upcoming El Clasico matches between Real Madrid and Barcelona. Buy Real Madrid and FC Barcelona tickets for the first El Clasico on 7 October at the Nou Camp and many more La Liga matches with the leading ticket comparison site.